Goldfinch communual winter roost (1 Viewer)

This last couple of years I've had the good fortune to witness a largish winter roost of predominantly Goldfinch with a smattering of Greenfinches and Chaffinches. The roost is located in an unruly bunch of large evergreens behind our caravan (70 metres away) near Kilbarchan in Scotland.

Its very difficult to count the arriving birds as they arrive in small groups from all points of the compass over about 45 minutes, some perch forming on occasion groups of 30-40 twittering away in tree tops others dive straight in.

Over the weekend I estimate 120+ Goldies with 20-30 Greenies but as said its so difficult for one observer I wouldn't be suprised if its nearer 200 or more.

Anyone else had similar roosts?

Stewart

At Cowpen Bewley Woodland Park we've had around 200 Linnet and 200 Goldfinch the last couple of months with a few Greenfinch and Chaffinch mixed in. Numbers have dropped now though as all but a few Linnet have moved on and only half the number of Goldfinch now. They've been roosting in a couple of willow trees.

At another site a few miles west of here there's been 100-150 Brambling with much lower numbers of Goldfinch, Chaffinch and Greenfinch. Sometimes roosting in the confiers of the nearby wood and sometimes in the hawthorn bushes alongside an old railay line now a walkway.